Exercising will cut your risk of cardiovascular problems in half.

Men who are physically fit have a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), regardless of their cholesterol levels, according to a recent study conducted at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario and the Cooper Institute in Dallas.

The study's main goal was to test if the recently revised National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines accurately predicted who was at higher risk for death from CVD. The guidelines divide adults into three groups: those who meet the LDL cholesterol goal, those who need lifestyle interventions, and those who need medication to control their cholesterol.

Compared to men who met the LDL goals, men who needed lifestyle interventions had more than twice the risk of CVD death. Men who required drugs had almost seven times the risk of death.

Yet in all three groups, men who were physically fit had half the CVD mortality as unfit men. Physical fitness was defined as getting four or five 30-minute segments of exercise per week. The bottom line: Stay active.